The Adventures of Dazzling Neon!
by Rabbit Zoro
Summary: Subtitle: For the Love of the Hero. rnWelcome, my friends, to journey of madness, daring, and outright stupidity! Who will be victorious in this game of love? Only time will tell! rnSPOILERS FOR TOWARDS THE END OF THE GAME (Gemity onward)
1. Let the Games Begin!

Now presenting from The Super Fantastical Star Ocean Krewe (a.k.a Tara's character set from her second game), _The Adventures of Dazzling Neon!: For the Love of the Hero, Part 1_! Join us on the start (and, given Tara's writing habits, likely never the end) of a not-so-epic journey as three proud warriors duke it out to win the heart of their pretty geek-boy leader with the funnily spelled name!

**Our cast!**

First off, our contestants!   
**Peppita Rossetti** - Hailing from the Rossetti Circus, this young miss has certainly had to work her hardest to even get _near_ our skinny geek-boy after their first meeting. Her work has paid off, however, as she nows travels through the cosmos by his side. Will her youthful determination and peppy disposition be enough to get her through? **  
Cliff Fittir** - Is this destiny? A hot not-so-young Klausian from the organization known as Quark, he has been by our geek-boy's side unerringly since almost the beginning of his adventures. This was his job, of course, but above and beyond the call of duty has he shown an interest in our young hero, who obviously looks on him as a friend. Is there more to it? Will this long-standing friendship be enough to help this blond hunk of muscle get a headstart on his younger, more shameless adversaries?**  
Albel Nox** - The third competitor, a lithe young masterpiece from Airyglyph (or, more precisely, Kirsal). Long has he taunted and baited his companions, including our geek-boy hero, but is there more? Of course! Otherwise he wouldn't be in this competition, and this competition wouldn't be on a FaytxAlbel community. At any rate! Despite his neverending string of barbs, he and our geek-boy seem to have a level of affection for each other. Watch as he gives lame excuses to save our hero's ass! Watch as our pretty geek-boy pouts and mopes when Albel leaves without saying good-bye! Will he be the one to steal away his heart? (Without doing it literally?) 

Watching from the sidelines are the other members of this madhouse! **  
Fayt Leingod** - AKA our skinny, pretty geek-boy hero, and the (mostly oblivious) ultimate prize in this contest! Who will he choose? How will he decide?! How will he _survive_? Inquiring minds want to know!**  
Maria Traydor** - AKA the chick who looks suspiciously like our skinny geek-boy hero, yet has a very romantic ending with him if you choose to get it. Despite this, however, in this contest of wits, daring, insanity, and love, she is but an annoyed spectator looking out for our young hero. Good thing, too, considering how Albel's flirtation habits tend to be.**  
Sophia Esteed** - AKA ...shouldn't she be in this competition? The answer is no!, as Tara has decreed her relationship with our geek-boy to be mostly platonic, and also funnier if she's not directly involved. Which is not to say she does nothing at all! This young lady seems to have a favorite in this competition, and has no shame about helping him out as much as possible! The other two will have to double up on their efforts to win Fayt's heart with her around. Could this result in a team-up?  
**Other people** - ...I'm lazy, shush.

Such drama! Such daring! Who will win in this madman's game of chance and love? We start our contest in Peterny's inn, after returning to the Eternal Sphere for the first time...

**Part 1!: Let the games begin!**

"Oh, you've got to be _kidding_ me."

"I'm not! Fayt likes me more, and you know it!"

Cliff crossed his arms and shook his head. "Not a chance, kid. We've been travelling together for a lot longer than you two have."

"Yeah, but only because you _kidnapped_ him and crashed on a planet with no way off," Peppita said, glaring at the much older man across the table. "And besides, you're old enough to be his dad!"

"All right, kid, now you're treading on thin ice," Cliff said, leaning forward onto the table and returning her glare.

"Well, it's _true_," Peppita insisted. "You're how old? Fourty?"

"I'm only thirty-six."

"That's still seventeen years!" Peppita cried. "You're still a cradle robber!"

"Now, _hold on_," Cliff said, standing up. Peppita stood up as well, trying her best to look imposing from almost two feet down. "At least I don't look like I'm a ten-year-old."

"_I am fourteen years old!_" Peppita yelled, stomping her foot. Cliff waved his hand dismissively.

"Close enough."

"_Oooooooh_," Peppita growled, hardly a second before leaping forward in an attempt to attack the much larger man. Cliff expected this, however, and dodged, then stood and watched in amusement as the girl pounded on him.

"Imbeciles."

"Huh?" Cliff turned his head to look behind him, catching sight of Albel in the corner. "How long have you been here?"

"Since Fayt fell asleep while we were discussing... certain matters regarding the future," Albel said, resisting the urge to smirk as Cliff and Peppita looked at him, one annoyed and the other disbelieving.

"You were in Fayt's room?!" Peppita asked, moving past Cliff to properly attempt to look threatening. "Why?!"

"...I believe I already answered that, maggot."

"Care to explain what you meant by 'matters regarding the future'?" Cliff asked, turning to watch what would likely result in a fight between the two.

"No," Albel said simply.

"_Tell us_!" Peppita ordered, marching up to Albel and standing on her toes in an attempt to look him in the eyes. Suddenly she gasped, backing up and pointing at the Glyphian. "I know! I bet you're trying to steal Fayt away from me!"

"...You mean me, right?" Cliff asked, tilting his head to one side to avoid Peppita's Scholar's Bracelet as it flew through the air and hit the wall behind him. Albel hmphed.

"I don't see how I could 'steal' him when he's already mine," he said reproachfully, and stepped to the side to avoid Peppita's Lunar Talisman and Cliff's Warrior's Bracelet.

"Get real, Albel. Like he'd be interested in a bastard like you," Cliff said.

"iYou/i certainly seemed to be after I got shot."

"Only because Fayt-," Cliff started, stopped, then threw his Amulet of Freedom at him. Albel dodged this as well, only to get hit in the face by one of Peppita's many pairs of shoes.

"You little _vermin_," he hissed, moving to draw his sword just as Maria came stalking down the hall, followed by Sophia.

"Will you three _pipe down_? We can hear you down the hall!" Maria said. Behind her, Sophia waved cheerfully.

"Sorry, boss," Cliff said, shrugging. The other combatants merely made faces at her and turned to ignore her, respectively. Maria sighed, forcing down the urge to toss one of her own accessories at them.

"What on earth were you three shouting about, anyway?" she asked, looking annoyed.

"...I don't shout, fool," Albel muttered, rubbing his face. Maria glared at him.

"Fine then, what were Cliff and Peppita shouting about, and what were _you_ simpering about?" she asked, and one of brief loss of self control later dodged Albel's Warrior's Bracelet.

"Well, if you _really_ want to know-mmph!" Peppita glared up at Cliff, who twitched slightly when she bit into his hand.

"Ah, nothing to worry about, Maria. These two were just being obnoxious," he said, shrugging. "Same old, same old."

Maria arched an eyebrow, then sighed and shook her head. 

"Whatever. But if you're going to fight, do it outside of town, please. I don't think this planet's buildings could take the structural damage," she said, crossing her arms. "Not to mention the fact that this is an inn. You know, where people _sleep_?"

"Sleep is for the weak!" Cliff and Peppita answered together, flashing Quark's leader a thumb's up. Yet another loss of self control later, they both dodged accessories of Maria's, only for the latter to be hit from behind with a flying laser weapon (fortunately not turned on).

"Payback," Albel said simply, and stalked out of the inn. Rubbing the back of her head, Peppita pointed as dramatically as possible after him.

"You! Stop right there! You still haven't told us what you were talking to Fayt about!" she yelled, chasing after him.

"What he was talking to Fayt about?" Maria asked, looking questioningly at Cliff. He just shrugged and jogged out of the inn after the two. Maria and Sophia watched him leave, and then, with a world-weary sigh, the former set about picking up the items strewn about the lobby. Sophia watched her for a moment, then quickly bowed to the slightly stunned and frightened workers at the desks.

"Sorry if our friends frightened you," she said, bowing again. "But I don't suppose you could tell us what they were talking about...?"

The two desk workers looked at each other, at Sophia, then Maria, then back at each other. Finally, the one in charge of people's things shook his head slowly. Maria and Sophia looked at each other.

"Er, well, what if I guess? Can you tell me if I'm right?" Sophia asked. The employees looked at each other again, then looked at her and nodded.

"Okay! Well, let's see," she said, looking thoughtful. "Were they fighting over who Fayt likes the most?"

The employees and Maria looked at the girl, stunned and confused.

"How did you guess?" the employee in charge of guests asked. Sophia beamed.

"Woman's intuition," she said. "That, and Cliff has talked to me about it, Peppita was shouting about Albel and Fayt when she left, and Fayt keeps asking me what I think Albel likes."

"...Sounds more like assumption, if you ask me," Maria said, her brain's defense mechanisms swiftly trying to suppress thoughts of Sophia's revelation. Sophia shrugged and smiled.

"Close enough."

"...Right. Now could you help me-?"

Sophia blinked. "Oh! Right!"

As the two young women cleaned up after their companions, off on the path leading to Surferio the odd trio continued to bicker. Or rather, Peppita bickered, Albel ignored her, and Cliff _tried_ to ignore her.

"Come _on_! Tell us what you and Fayt talked about!" she yelled, taking out her frustrations on a passing thief as he tried to escape the area.

"Give it up, kid. He's not going to talk if he doesn't want to," Cliff said, exasperated. Albel sniffed and eyed him.

"What do you know? The lummox _has_ been paying attention," he said, absently lopping off the head of a passing harpy, flinching slightly as it twisted in its fall and showered him in blood. Peppita grimaced and jumped back to avoid getting too much on herself. Cliff snorted.

"Bright move," he said. Albel glared at him and continued along the path. Peppita followed swiftly after, quickly moving ahead of him and pointing at him dramatically. Albel paused, looking briefly tired and annoyed. Mostly annoyed.

"You _have_ to tell us what you talked about, otherwise that's... You're... You're-," Peppita paused, pondering her word choice, the jabbed Albel determinedly in the chest with her finger. "You're cheating!"

Cliff and Albel looked at each other, then at Peppita.

"Cheating?" Cliff asked. Peppita looked unsure of herself just briefly, then jabbed Albel in the chest again before pointing up.

"Yeah, cheating! And in the game of love, that's the worst offense of all!" she declared. Albel's self-control faltered, and he stared at her increduously. Cliff, for his part, just snorted again.

"I thought 'all's fair in love and war'," he said, and Peppita turned and glared at him, stomping her foot.

"Not this time, not for this person! Fayt's too good for that!" she shouted, annoyed, then suddenly looked frighteningly sly before she assumed an innocent pose, looking away from the men. "Well, unless, of course, you don't agree with me. If you don't, maybe you should just leave Fayt to me..."

Cliff narrowed his eyes. "Okay, now _that's_ cheating."

"And badly, at that," Albel muttered, side-stepping to avoid Peppita as she jumped at him. Furious, she turned back to try again, then paused and stood straight.

"Fine, then. If _you_ won't tell me," she said, trailing off before running like a bat out of hell back to Peterny, "then _Fayt will_!!" Albel watched her run off, expressionless. Cliff paused, fidgeting slightly, then followed her.

"Hey, kid! Wait up!" he yelled, squashing an unfortunate giant scorpion's head as he ran. Albel did not move for a few moments, then followed after them, walking at a steady clip. Far be it from him to miss a chance to watch his companions act like fools. Besides, he needed a bath. Maybe Fayt would join him...

So the story begins! The lines are being drawn, eyes are being set on the prize, declarations are being made to do or to die! (Okay, maybe not that last one.) How will this story unfold? Tune in next time for the not-so-thrilling continuation of _The Adventures of Dazzling Neon!: For the Love of the Hero_! 

**Author's Notes**  
We would like to take this moment to apologize for the extreme dorkiness of this story and its author. Also, I am prone to overdoing it with dialogue abundance. Sorry? ;;


	2. The Obligatory Bath House Scene!

Now presenting the return of The Super Fantastical Star Ocean Krewe, with _The Adventures of Dazzling Neon!: For the Love of the Hero_, Part 2! 

**Part 2! The Obligatory Bath House Scene!**

"_FAYT_!"

"GAH!"

Cliff paused at the door into Fayt's room, not sure whether to laugh or to go about prying Peppita off of Fayt. After Fayt managed to knock Peppita off of himself, he settled for leaning against the wall and laughing. Fayt stared at him in confusion, occasionally looking over at Peppita, who rubbed her backside as her mind puttered cheerfully along, not at all intent on being compliant. After a while, Fayt decided the best course of action would be to comply by Survival Rule Number Five of the "Arcane Warriors of the Black Brigade":

If all else fails, throw something.

So he did.

A few minutes later, Albel arrived at the hotel, ignoring the the employees as they drew back at the sight of him half-covered in swiftly drying blood as he went straight for Fayt's room. Sophia blinked in surprise, quickly looked him over, then finally waved at him as he drew near, and Albel twitched a finger in response. Gratified, Sophia turned back to continue watching Fayt apologize profusely and try to properly heal the large bump and nearby bleeding gash on Cliff's head. Cliff just muttered under his breath something about barrels, and nearby Peppita nervously waited for a chance to question Fayt about his and Albel's discussion, making an effort to clean Cliff's blood off of Fayt's boot as she did. Maria sat by Cliff and Fayt, trying to keep Cliff's hands away from his gash so that Fayt could get at it without problems. As Albel stood by Sophia in the doorway Maria looked up at him, her expression quickly flashing through several emotions, finally landing on the one it liked best. Cliff watched as she did, following her steady, exasperated glare to the Glyphian at the door and finally moving his hands away from his head in surprise.

"Healing!" Fayt said, pressing his hand over Cliff's gash, which somewhat quickly closed, leaving a long, rather nasty-looking bruise. He thought about trying again, then noticed both Maria and Cliff looking out the door. His jaw dropped slightly, then he more or less literally hopped off of the bed, almost practically tackling Albel before his mind reminded him that that was not exactly the best idea in the world. Instead he settled for trying to form a coherent question, then switched plans as Albel smirked slightly at him.

"I'm fine, fool," he said quietly, just loud enough for Fayt and Sophia to make out the words. Fayt briefly pondered hitting him, then settled for directing the most weary sigh he could muster at him. It reminded all but Maria disturbingly of Maria. Maria it just annoyed for reasons she could not quite place.

"So why are you covered in blood?"

Albel shrugged.

"No reason." Turning away, he added, "Come with me, fool." Fayt watched him walk away, perplexed and reminded eerily of a previous incident at the inn.

"Er, I'll be right back, okay?" he said, heading after Albel. A few feet down the hall it occured to him that he might potentially need shoes and turned back, thanking Sophia as she quickly handed him his boots. After quickly putting them on he ran after Albel again, Sophia waving cheerfully as he left. Inside Fayt's room, Maria, Cliff, and Peppita did not move, slightly confused as to what just happened. Finally, Maria shook her head, and as if on cue the other two snapped out of it.

"Those two confuse me," Maria muttered, sliding off of the bed and standing up, facing away from the others as she straightened out her clothes.

"Well, anyway, Cliff, are you--," she said, turning to look at the large Klausian man. Across the room, the door swung slightly on its hinges as Sophia called out for Peppita and Cliff to have fun. "...Does the fate of the universe matter only to me?"

"Well, I don't know. I'd say Fayt matters a lot to Albel, Cliff, and Peppita, too," Sophia said cheerfully, beaming as Maria walked up beside her, looking between slightly amused and slightly annoyed.

"That's not what I meant," she said, and Sophia shrugged.

"Oh, I know. But I'm safe in the knowledge that no matter how obnoxious I get or ditzy I act, you can't get rid of me because without my genetic ability you're screwed."

"..._What_?"

"Oh, nothing at all," Sophia said, bouncing slightly on her heels. A brief moment later, she got a flash of inspiration and grabbed Maria, pulling her into the hall and closing the door behind her before dragging her down the hall. Maria, still trying to figure out if Sophia had been lying, or even if she had actually said anything, allowed herself to be dragged along for a while before regaining her composure.

"Wait, where are we going?!"

"Shopping, of course!" Sophia answered. Maria's composure went straight to hell again as she watched the brunette incredulously.

"What?!"

A similar question was posed some long distance away as Cliff and Peppita stopped in their tracks, gaping up at the large bath house before them.

"...I've been all over this place and I don't remember anything like this," Cliff said, arching an eyebrow. Peppita arched an eyebrow of her own up at him.

"Really?" she asked. "According to Fayt you spend most of your time here in the tavern."

"Oh, shut up, kid," Cliff muttered. "Are you sure they went in here?"

"Absolutely!" Peppita answered, pumping her fist and holding it up in the air in an odd sort of victory pose. Cliff ignored this and went on inside. Peppita held her pose for a moment, then hurried in after him.

"Wow, this place is big," Peppita murmered. Cliff nodded vaguely, looking around. How _did_ he miss this thing's existance? Down a nearby hall, he spotted the black-and-blond ends of two wrapped pigtails disappear into a door.

"Bingo," he said quietly, moving to head down the hall before being blocked by a smallish young man dressed in a uniform complimentary to the bath house's decor.

"Excuse me, sir, but you'll need to pay before you use one of our baths," he said. Cliff shifted from side to side, and the employee moved to block him as he did so. Deciding there was no way he was getting past him (and belatedly acknowledging the fact that breaking the law probably was _not_ a good course of action, all things considered), Cliff muttered and headed to the counter, the employee following nervously.

"Fine, how much?" Cliff asked, pulling out his wallet.

"10,000 fol per person, sir, for a basic wash and bath," answered the man behind the counter. Cliff stared at him, some of his money dropping from hand onto the counter.

"_What?_"

Fayt said nothing in reply, simply staring at Albel, his face slowly turning red. This vastly amused (and, somewhere in the very back of his mind, flattered and embarrassed) Albel, though it did not register on his face.

"Stop it," he said, sitting on a stool near Fayt's. After a moment or two, Fayt looked away from Albel and set about cleaning himself off. A few feet away, Albel watched him while he unwrapped his pigtails, pausing to look over the bandages he tied them up with disgustedly.

"Do you think they do cleaning here?" he asked, holding one bloody bandage in front of his face. Fayt shrugged.

"I don't think they do," he said, scratching the back of his head embarrassedly. "But they have robes for sale, so..."

"I'm _not_ walking through town wearing only a robe, fool," Albel muttered, and removed his mechanical arm before lathering shampoo into his hair. Fayt watched and shook his head.

"Not you, me," Fayt said, realizing a bit late how odd that sounded. "I mean, you can wear my clothes and I'll just wear the robe until we get back to the inn or something. You're taller than me, but you're also thinner, so I think they should fit..." Albel snorted, pouring water over his head. One embarrassing coughing fit later, he waved a worried Fayt away, coughing a few more times.

"Fine, if you insist," he said, smirking just slightly before looking seriously up at the younger man. "I hope you plan on investing on pants as well as a robe before we leave."

Fayt made a face. "What? You can go around wearing a skirt slit up to here with stockings, but I can't go out in a long robe?"

"Don't mock me, fool," Albel growled, and tossed his water bucket at Fayt. Fayt ducked, and the bucket landed and rolled safely away, running into Cliff's foot as he opened the door.

"Rule Number Five strikes again, I see," he said, picking up the bucket as he headed to where the other two were. Albel frowned and turned away from him, scrunching up slightly as he continued washing. Fayt watched him worriedly before turning to greet Cliff.

"Hey, Cliff! What are you doing here?"

"Seeing how effective steam is on headaches. You?"

Fayt grimaced. "You're not going to forgive me for that, are you?"

"Ah, what are you talking about? I already forgave you! I just figured it gave me full excuse to pick on you for a while," Cliff said, grinning as he ruffled Fayt's hair. Fayt looked fairly unamused.

"What, don't you pick on me enough?" he asked, taking Albel's bucket back and turning to hand it back to the Glyphian. Albel had already gone about taking Fayt's bucket, however, so Fayt instead returned his attention to Cliff. "So, really. What are you doing here?"

"Ah, no big deal. I justed wanted to see where you and Albel were going and thought the place looked pretty neat. Didn't expect to end up in the same room, though," Cliff said, grinning in such a way as to make Fayt completely unsuspicious to the fact that what Cliff had just said was a bald-faced lie.

"This is a nice place, isn't it?" Fayt asked, looking around. "It's been a while since I've been to one of these. It's kind of weird that they have one here..."

"Yeah, well, it's not as weird as it seems, if you think about it," Cliff said quietly. Fayt looked at him, briefly confused, then looked down at the floor.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe one or more of the programmers just liked bath houses..."

The three men remained silent for a while as they continued washing, pondering assorted things of various importance. Fayt mulled over recent events, thinking about how swiftly things had gone straight to hell. Had it even been a month since Hyda IV was attacked? In that short period of time he had gone from a college student who liked fighting in video games to an above-average warrior with some sort of bizarre, mostly uncontrollable superpower. He had participated in a war on an underdeveloped planet (and at that very moment, one of his most dangerous enemies during that time was sitting a few feet away, exchanging occasional glares with Cliff, who had by all means technically kidnapped him), then had gone on to a different dimension, only to find out that his world, his entire universe was just a giant video game. It was more than a little mind-numbing to think about. He kept going over everything that had happened in his mind, from crashing near Whipple, to crashing _in_ Airyglyph, from fighting the Vendeeni machines at Hyda to fighting the "guards" in Arkives. Worrying about Nel going off on her own, worrying about Sophia, worrying about his parents, worrying about Mirage's escape from Airyglyph, worrying about Ameena and Dion, worrying more than he really probably should have over almost everything Albel did or did not do after they fought in the mountains... Getting annoyed when Albel and Cliff refused to help each other in battle unless he went and practically got himself killed fighting, worrying and being confused and somewhat annoyed at Albel's late-night intrusion into his room and being awoken by almost being stabbed through the head, then turning around and being sad and again worried when Albel left without giving him the chance to say good-bye in person. Feeling guilty for not worrying more about Albel after he was shot, then feeling even more guilty for thinking that when his father had died from a similar wound. Feeling guilty for lying to Cliff when he told him that he had found the nice, shiny, expensive sword he had just bought for Albel just lying by the river (something he was certain Cliff never believed, and he wondered belatedly why he had just let it drop), and getting annoyed and embarrassed when Albel teased him in private for buying Cliff new armour to make up for it. Everything and anything he could conceivably worry about, he did, including worrying about how much he had worried about Albel (and, guiltily, and to a much lesser extent, Cliff), for what he was certain were mostly, if not all, of the wrong reasons...

"Hey, Fayt, you in there?" Cliff asked, tugging on a strand of blue hair from Fayt's head and being punched in return.

"Yeah, yeah," Fayt muttered, rubbing irritatedly at his eyes as if that would help clear his mind. "Did I fall asleep or something?"

"Nah, you just kind of zoned out," Cliff said, leaning down to get a better look at the blue-haired boy. "You all right?"

"I'm fine. I just got caught up in thinking about something," Fayt said, trailing off and hiding his eyes as his face reddened greatly. "Could you possibly wear a towel, please?"

"There's not a towel in this place big enough, kid," Cliff said, grinning, and hauled Fayt to his feet. "Now come on, we're heading to the bath." Fayt muttered unintelligibly, wrapping a towel around his lower body as he followed Albel, who slowed just enough to let the younger man catch up with him. Cliff watched in annoyance as the two seemingly completely forgot he was there, heading off down the hall on their own. As they reached the door to the outdoor bath, however, Fayt stopped to wave for him to hurry up, his line of sight slowly drifting down again before, thoroughly embarrassed by now, he ducked quickly through the door. Grinning widely, Cliff tied two corners of a towel around his waist in a surprising mimicry of decency as he went down the hall and outside.

Somewhere else entirely, the three females of the group wandered the streets of Peterny, busily discussing life, the universe, and everything. The guys seemed to pop up a lot, too.

"I wonder what Cliff looks like naked," Sophia mused, glancing at Maria. "Do you know?"

"W-What? How would I know?" Maria asked, blushing uncharacteristically.

"Oh, I don't know. Cliff just seems like the type to walk around naked or half-naked a lot," Sophia said, and shrugged. Maria sighed.

"He's pretty shameless sometimes, but not _that_ much. At any rate, Mirage has never mentioned anything about it, and neither have any of the other older members of Quark," she said. Sophia looked thoughtful.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. And Fayt never said anything about it either, and he and Cliff travelled together a lot," she said, still musing patiently up at the sky as if it would suddenly tear open and reveal unto her a naked Cliff Fittir.

"Where'd that question come from, anyway?" Peppita asked, eyeing Sophia somewhat warily. The two girls were friendly enough with each other, but that by no means meant that Sophia was not a little strange at times. Unbeknownst to her, Maria, walking on Sophia's other side, was thinking much along the same lines, albeit with the bonus line of thought wondering if the Vendeeni had tampered with her brain or had she always been this way. She certainly had never encountered anything about the Esteed girl having a mental illness during her research, and Fayt and Cliff had never mentioned anything about it. It was not that big of a deal, really, as Sophia was for the most part a very sweet girl, though entirely too concerned about others' feelings for anyone's good. Still, though, the way these things just sort of popped out of the blue...

"Oh, I was just wondering," Sophia answered, smiling brightly. Ignoring the passed glance between the other two girls, she looked through the bags hanging from her arms. "I guess we're just about done shopping, huh?"

"I think the only places we _haven't_ hit are the food stands, the outfitter, and the Retail Rabbit that keeps wandering around the street the inn's on," Maria said in agreement, shifting her small, solitary bag on her arm and looking at least slightly embarrassed. She was just thankful Sophia and Peppita had not asked who the gifts were for, though, now that she thought about it, it was probably not as embarrassing as she was making it out to be. Certainly buying small little gifts for her closest friends in Quark could not be all that bad, could it?

As Maria pondered to herself, Peppita piped up with, "Hey, I heard that the outfitter just got in some love potions recently!" Sophia blinked in surprise.

"Really?"

"Yeah! Think we should go check them out?" Peppita asked.

"Don't bother. Fayt asked Welch about them and she said they don't work. More importantly, not only do they not work, they evidently make you dislike people," Maria said, suppressing the urge to look proud as the younger girls looked at her with something at least resembling admiration (although in Peppita's case it swiftly turned to jealousy, though this went unnoticed).

"Really?" Sophia asked again, disappointed. "So why are they even selling them?"

"I have no idea," Maria said, and shrugged as the three girls entered the inn, Peppita pausing to look wistfully down towards the outfitter's. "I guess they must serve some additional purpose."

"I'd certainly hope so," Sophia replied, musing again.

"Or maybe the people of Aquios are just crooks," Peppita said cheerfully, thankfully out of earshot of any Aquiosans as she bounded into her and Sophia's room.

"That's not a nice thing to say, Peppita," Sophia said, frowning at the younger girl as they set their bags on their beds. Peppita just shrugged.

"You never know."

"If you two don't mind," Maria said, intent on at least briefly preventing an argument, "I'll go back to my room. I have things to think about."

"Oh, it's okay. We'll see you at dinner!" Sophia said, waving cheerfully to Maria as she left the doorway to go to her room. Peppita waved as well, though she knew it was too late to matter.

"What time is it, anyway?" she asked, looking around. "Is there a clock in here?"

"On my side there is," Sophia said, peering at it. "It's... two after five? I didn't think we were out that long..."

"Wait, if it's almost five, shouldn't Fayt and them be back yet?" Peppita asked, looking appropriately worried, though for the wrong reasons. For her part, Sophia's reasons for her worried expression were not much better.

"They really should be. Maybe they're just sleeping?" she said, both her and Peppita walking out the door in silent agreement, though Peppita, at least, wrongly assumed the other's motivation. A few minutes later, they returned to their room, no less worried than before.

"I wonder where they are. Could they still be at the bath house?" Sophia asked, and Peppita shook her head.

"Naw, I'm sure they probably just went somewhere to clean Albel's clothes because they were all bloody and stuff," Peppita said, more to assure herself than Sophia, though it worked the other way around.

"I wish I had my camera, then," Sophia said, grinning. "Knowing Fayt, he probably let Albel wear his clothes and is walking around in a towel or something. I'm sure Aunt Ryoko would find it hilarious..." A brief look of sadness flitted over Sophia's face, and Peppita eyed her worriedly.

"Are you okay, Sophia?" she asked. Sophia looked at her, briefly confused as if she had just woken up, then smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm just worried, that's all," she said, waving one hand dismissively. "Anyway, why don't you and I go see if we can find the boys? I think they need a good talking to for making us worry, don't you?"

Peppita watched her, frowning still. Just as Sophia's smile twitched in preparation to fall, however, she beamed and raised her fist in the air. "Yeah! We'll teach them what happens when you make women worry!"

"Right!" Sophia said, and went to open the door. Just as she did, Cliff made it to the top step.

"Honey, I'm home!" he bellowed, grinning. Albel, wearing his own, newly cleaned and slightly damp clothes (much to Sophia's partial amusement but mostly dismay) pushed him aside, rolling his eyes in disgust. Fayt followed him, carrying a robe and a pair of cheapish pajama pants. He stopped by Cliff to pat him on the back, and waved vaguely to Sophia and Peppita before quite realizing they were there and stopping.

"Hey, Sophia, Peppita," he said, his mind lurching back out of "deep thought mode".

"Hi, Fayt," Sophia said, waving. "Have a nice bath?" Fayt blinked at her.

"Er, yeah. How did know?" he asked. Sophia giggled and walked over, then proceeding to pluck at the robe in his arms. Fayt watched her do this as if from a distance as his mind finally got back to speed. "Oh, uh, right. I forgot about these."

Sophia giggled again, earning a false look of annoyance from Fayt, then suddenly turned serious. "It's not like you to zone out like that, Fayt. Are you okay?"

"You, too?" Fayt asked, earning a confused look from Sophia until she peered over to one side and saw Cliff watching Fayt worriedly. Fayt followed her gaze and sighed. "I'm _fine_, really. I just have a lot on my mind, okay?"

"Okay, if you're sure," Sophia said, not quite able to remove the worry from her voice. "But if anything is wrong, you'll be sure to tell me, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. You worry too much," Fayt said, cracking a small grin before walking past her. "I'm just going to go see if I can sleep it off. Later."

"Have a nice nap," Sophia said, giving Fayt a small wave and smiling slightly as he returned it before going into his room and closing the door. Now alone in the hall, Albel having gone into his room some time ago (or they _thought_ he went into his room. Now that they thought about it, none of them had really been paying attention to where he went...), Sophia, Cliff, and Peppita looked at each other, a mutual look of concern on their faces. Cliff's was the first to go.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure Fayt got back okay. If anyone needs me, I'll be at the tavern," he said, turning swiftly and going down the stairs before either girl could say anything. The two girls looked at one another, Sophia finally breaking the silence.

"Well, I guess we're just going to have to trust Fayt on this one," she said, shrugging. "Hopefully he'll feel better when he wakes up."

"Yeah," Peppita said, unusually solemnly for her. Much like Cliff, however, she quickly brightened. "I bet he'll feel a lot better when we give him the stuff we got him, too!"

"Right!" Sophia said, smiling as the two girls walked back into their room. "Though, don't you think those earrings are a little girly for him?"

"Not if he only wears one," Peppita answered. "After all, they're just gold hoops. That Wittcomb guy had one, and it was a lot bigger than the ones I got Fayt."

"I guess you're right," Sophia said, then looked suddenly confused. "Wait, Fayt's ears aren't pierced, anyway."

"Not yet they aren't!" Peppita said, holding up a needle and grinning with such devilish glee that Sophia flinched slightly and backed away from her. Peppita noticed this and made a face at Sophia.

"Oh, what? I'm not going to hurt him or anything..."

"Knowing your reputation, that's not entirely comforting," Fayt said, forcing himself not to look back at the unusually pretty man changing clothes behind him. "And can't you use your own room for this?"

"And here I thought you'd appreciate my presence," Albel said, his voice mock-hurt. Fayt sighed for what seemed like the fifty thousandth time that day.

"I _do_, usually," he said, "but when I'm ready to fall sleep, having a half-naked man nearly give me a heart attack isn't my idea of fun."

"It's not my fault," Albel said, completely ignoring the fact that yes, it _was_ kind of his fault. "And it's hardly even the evening. Why are you going to bed so early? Are you sick?"

At this uncharacteristic display of worry, Fayt looked back, his gaze locking in with Albel's. A few moments passed before Albel moved, sitting on Fayt's bed and pulling him roughly into the closest Fayt felt he would ever get to a hug. Given a number of factors, up to and including the fact that Albel primarily used his mechanical arm in the faux-hug, it was not the most comfortable display of affection, but Fayt eventually relaxed into it, and swiftly fell asleep. Albel watched him silently, moving his "living" hand to Fayt's forehead once he was certain he was completely out. He frowned at the slight fever Fayt had, and considered speaking to one of the maggots who might know more about medicine about it. When he shifted Fayt in order to move him entirely onto the bed, however, the boy held onto his skirt as if it were some sort of lifeline. Albel fidgeted slightly, ashamed of how nervous he suddenly felt. In lack of a better plan, Corollary One to Rule Number Five came into effect.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Fayt asked, holding his cheek that Albel had backhanded.

"You fell asleep on me, fool," he answered, annoyed.

"You didn't have to slap me, though," Fayt muttered, and upon pulling his hand away from his face and seeing blood on it, added, "and you _definately_ didn't need to use your metal hand."

"Not my problem," Albel said, then briskly walked out of the room. Fayt watched him go and applied a healing spell onto his cheek.

"You could have at least said good night," he said, annoyed, as he got up to close his door.

"Why should I say something you already know?" Albel asked, not showing his amusement at Fayt's surprise.

"This whole 'give Fayt a heart attack' thing is getting kind of old," Fayt noted. Albel shrugged and smirked at him. "...Good night."

"The fool has manners," Albel said, amused, then disappeared from his doorway into his own room and closed the door. Fayt paused in his own doorway for a while, finally closing the door behind him as he went back to bed.

"I need a vacation."

**Author's Note**   
Insert dramatic shenaniganery like last time here. I would, but I'm all headache-y and whiny, and you don't want to read that! :D You also don't want to read the above story part, as it, uh, kinda sucks. ;; Moreso than last time. I blame Fayt and Albel, as the former's Mr. McAngstyPants, and the both of them are defeating the point that this isn't supposed to be _entirely_ AlbelxFayt. It seems Cliff will have to kick it up a notch. And learn that being pervy isn't winning many favors with Fayt (such is the woe of both him an I, truly). Anyway!

Will Fayt remember that this is mostly a humour story and stop angsting? What is this mysterious sickness? Will our young hero be defeated by the common cold? What will our contestants do if he is?! What _is_ going through Sophia's head? Will Cliff or Peppita really step up to the plate in the future? Will Tara ever stopping sucking the light asstacular a writer? All this and more, next time on _The Adventures of Dazzling Neon!: For the Love of the Hero_, different crap time, same not-crap channel! thumbs up

(Insert previous disclaimer here, yo. Also, an apology for the aforementioned serious suckassiness of the above piece. Tara is by no means a serious writer, and this is by no means a serious piece. However, we'd still appreciate constructive criticism to make it less sucky. :B

We'd like to apologize for... Well, for one thing, suddenly turning plural. For another, Albel being a bit OOC towards the end. Only, I'm not for the latter. 'Cause he started it. ...Yes.

Also, all stupidity Tara blames on bleeding profusely from the nose for no apparent reason during school and on her headache. Because if you can't blame your own body, who _can_ you blame?)

**As of this uploading** on 11/17, Tara would like to apologize for the above author's note, which was written a month or two ago. Sorry? And as I forgot to note on the last chapter, this was written for the FaytxAlbel community at LJ, here: 


	3. Sickness and Bad Dreams

Once again, The Super Fantastical Star Ocean Krewe brings to you _The Adventures of Dazzling Neon!: For the Love of the Hero_! What bizarre events shall we witness today? 

**Part 3! Sickness and bad dreams.**

The sound of his gasping for air echoed strangely through the swamp, though it was not the fact that there were echoes in a _swamp_ that bothered him. It was more what he had seen, what he had heard, and the fact that those _bothered_ him, _him_, that disturbed him. He supposed the fact that he was gasping for air - something he had not done in ages, not where anyone could see him, at least - was not helping him any. His mind reeled ahead of him in the darkness, through the smell of the rot and decay and little nasty biting dead things and sweat and blood and fear. Fear. _Fear_. Were he able to stop himself from running, were he able to reach for his swords or move his claws from where they swung limply at his side, he could have killed himself then and there. Albel Nox, Albel the Wicked, _Albel the Fucking Wicked_, did not _fear_. He also never cursed, and had that damnable Klausian not already been dead he would have blamed him for his slip, but there was no use in blaming the dead. Just as there was no use in fear and no use in panic and no use in desperately just wanting to hide somewhere and be alone and throw up and be himself and no use in hating himself and no use in thinking the way he was thinking and no use in fucking shame. He had no idea where he was running, little idea _why_ he was running, and he thought he _should_ know but he _didn't_ and it pissed him _right the hell off_, even more than gasping and being afraid and angry and not getting a chance to stop and hide behind his usual Unbreakable Shield of Superiority, as Fayt called it. Incidentally, he was also not very happy at catching himself referring to someone by their name, even alone in his thoughts, though they echoed like he had been talking the whole time and maybe he _was_ but he had no time for that now. Right now he just knew that he had stopped running and was stumbling somewhere and he didn't know _why_ or _where_ and it _still_ pissed him off, and if his father was there he'd have boxed his ears by now for cursing like some miner.

He stumbled blindly through the trees and the undergrowth, his actions becoming even more sickeningly familiar than the sounds he was now hearing. Sounds that sounded like they _should_ sound like something sharp slicing through wet meat but sounded more like someone playing and splashing in mud and maybe it _was_ but he knew it wasn't and he remembered this all and he knew it was another damned dream but he couldn't move his body how he wanted it to and he couldn't look away and he couldn't help feeling sick, though he knew damned well he had done worse and would _do_ worse if Fayt would still let him and he had laughed long and hard at it, once. But there was still something intensely disturbing about seeing your dead-and-rotting-though-he-should-have-finished-doing-so-long-ago father grinning and cackling and stabbing haphazardly and manically and not acting at all like he would have in real life, spraying and splashing the blood of a blue-haired figure he almost wished were Maria but he had already _seen_ her, and she had been dismembered some long ways back. So he was left knowing it was _Fayt_, that weak little bastard, and just to confirm it the blue-haired head raised up and grinned through the muck, a grin that would make most grown men hide in their beds and shiver and weep into the darkness, a grin full of blood and maggots and missing teeth and gore and grime.

He could have done better.

Somewhere in the darkness, one dark red eye opened and stared into the incomplete darkness of his bedroom at the inn. Albel cursed to himself, eventually, and his body slid from a position like a frightened, angry cat into a slightly more relaxed one that at least allowed his torso to acknowledge the bed's existence. He then became acutely aware of someone else in the room, but before he could attempt to kill him to make himself feel better, Fayt hurried into view.

"Hey, Albel, are you okay?"

Albel muttered into his pillow and turned away.

"That isn't going to work, you know."

Albel waved his stump arm in the air in annoyance.

"...And that just looks silly."

Albel turned in his bed to face Fayt again. "Are you going to leave, fool, or will I have to force you out?"

"Funny, I don't recall being this rude to _you_ when you tried to _kill_ me in _my_ sleep," Fayt said, crossing his arms then quickly uncrossing them in order to regain his balance. Albel watched him steady himself and shake his head in confusion.

"Go to bed, fool. You're sick and asking more moronic questions than usual," he said, and turned away again.

"I was just worried," Fayt said, and Albel heard him take a step towards his bed before falling, his head hitting the bed before he slumped onto the floor. He turned his head slightly to watch Fayt shakily force himself into a kneeling position, leaning heavily on the bed. "You were screaming in your sleep. Sophia and Cliff were worried, too, but she didn't want to come in your room without permission, and Cliff, well..."

Albel watched him watch him, the younger of the two looking decidedly worse for the wear. He idly wondered who he was more worried about, him or himself, before getting out of bed and walking over to the side Fayt was on. Fayt looked up at him, briefly giving the impression of a frightened rabbit before Albel offered him his hand.

"I don't feel like putting my claw on, so you'll have to settle for using me as a crutch."

"I'm fine," Fayt said, trying to move Albel's hand away and missing the first two tries. "I'm just tired."

"And sick, and an imbecile. Now let me help you up or I'm dragging you by your hair," Albel said, annoyed, though he smirked slightly when Fayt looked up at his face. "I believe this is _my_ routine."

"You're not worried about someone seeing you and thinking less of the mighty 'Albel the Wicked'?" Fayt asked as Albel hauled him up into a standing position and maneuvered himself so that Fayt was leaning on him.

"If anyone says anything, I'll refer them to that doctor friend of Zelpher's," he said, snorting. "I'm sure she'd appreciate a maniac or two. Now move."

Even with him supporting most of Fayt's weight, Albel really did not expect the trip back to Fayt's room to take so long. Reflecting on it, he supposed his mind may have just been making things seem longer, but he preferred excuses to mock Fayt. Given the state Fayt was in, it would probably be a while before he could do so again and have Fayt honestly acknowledge what he was saying without looking pitiful. He stayed with Fayt for a few minutes until the younger man was comatose again and shook his arm until he let go of it. He was about to leave when he heard someone knock on his door, a few feet from Fayt's.

"I'm in here, fool."

"Thanks for the heads up, bastard," Cliff said, walking into the room, followed by Sophia. "What're you doin' in here?"

"Fayt's sick."

"Ah, hell. Again?" Cliff asked, and moved past Albel to check on Fayt. He looked him over and felt his forehead. "Crap, you're right."

"Because this is certainly something I'd lie about," Albel muttered, resisiting the urge to try and fail to cross his arms.

"Should I get Maria?" Sophia asked. Cliff shook his head.

"Nah, he should be okay. He got sick not long after we got here and slept it off," he said. "Maria'd probably just try to kill us for waking her up at this hour."

"She'll also try to kill us for _not_ telling her if Fayt isn't any better by morning," Sophia noted.

"So either way we're screwed," Cliff said, shrugging. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be better in the morning. Us standing over him won't help him any, though."

"I'm still worried," Sophia said, moving to avoid being pushed towards the door.

"Fayt doesn't seem the type to get sick so easily," Albel agreed, swatting Cliff's hand away.

"Ah, man. What do I have to do, promise to let you two skin me alive if I'm wrong?" Cliff asked. Sophia and Albel glanced at each other, then looked back at him.

"I believe you off-worlders do something called a 'pinky swear'?" Albel asked, holding out aforementioned finger.

"Right!" Sophia said, holding out her own.

"...You guys are nuts," Cliff said, shaking his head. "Rr, fine. But we're bumping it down from skinning me to blaming me, all right?"

"I'd prefer skinning," Albel noted.

"Look, take it or leave it." Sophia and Albel glanced at each other again, then finally hooked their pinkies around Cliff's.

"Fine, it's a deal. Now get out before you wake Fayt up," Cliff said, and the other two finally complied. After they left, Cliff shut the door behind them and headed for his room. "Good night."

"Good night!" Sophia said, waving her pinky at him. "And remember-"

"I _know_," Cliff said, sounding uncharacteristically frustrated as he disappeared from sight and closed his door. Down by Fayt's room, the other two stood still for a few moments.

"...Is there a reason you're still here, fool?"

"You were screaming earlier."

"And how is this your problem?" Albel asked, arching an eyebrow.

"What? I'm not allowed to be worried about a friend?" Sophia asked, following the man as he grimaced and went back to his room.

"Find a new hobby," he said, and closed the door in her face.

"Don't I even get a 'good night'?" Sophia asked through the door.

"Don't die in your sleep, I plan on beheading you in the morning!"

"Good night to you, too!" Sophia said, significantly brighter as she left for her room. As far as she was concerned, that was the closest she would ever get from him, and it worked well enough. And, well, it was true, more or less.

The next morning, Fayt did not join Cliff and Albel in their usual morning training routine, and he did not join the girls at breakfast in and around the workshop. When the two men returned without him, Maria looked annoyed.

"Where's Fayt?" she asked. "Don't tell me he's training by himself, he's horrible at that..."

Cliff and Albel looked at each other, at Sophia, back at each other, then at Maria. Cliff grimaced.

"You mean he's not with you?"

"Why would he be with us?" asked Peppita. Albel and Cliff looked at each other again, and the formed walked away towards the inn.

"If you two did something to him," Maria said, more than a little threateningly.

"Whoa whoa whoa, why are you getting all suspicious at _us_?"

"Could it be because Albel's psychotic and you seem to have trouble remembering that the rest of us aren't as durable as Klausians are?" Maria asked, annoyed. Cliff shrugged.

"Just curious."

Before Maria could punch him, Cliff hurried off to the inn, where Albel was standing in the doorway and motioning for him to hurry the hell up. Sophia quickly followed him, and, after seeing if the other was just as confused as she was, Maria and Peppita followed as well.

"I moved him to my room. His bed will need to be cleaned," Albel said to Cliff and Sophia.

"Don't tell me he-"

"Just vomit and sweat."

"That's not much better, really," Cliff said, and Albel shrugged. "How is he?"

"He's not as warm as he was, at least, but I think he's more delirious," Albel said, then stopped on the stairs and looked at Cliff. "Do _you_ know who Opera Vectra is?"

Cliff blinked, and fought off the urge to grin as the group continued through the inn. "I think I do. I'll tell you later, after we check on him."

"Check on _who_?" Maria asked, grabbing ahold of Cliff's arm. "What did you morons do to Fayt?"

"Nothing! He's just under the weather, that's all," Cliff said, shrugging. "And out of it enough to mistake Albel for a long-dead Tetrageniot noblewowan, but anyway..."

"_What?_" said Maria and Albel simultaneously. Cliff hurried on ahead of them into Albel's room, followed by Sophia and Peppita. After a moment, Albel followed after them, Maria bringing up the rear.

"Now ain't that cute?" Cliff said, pausing briefly at the door before moving Fayt from being half on the floor back to being fully in bed.

"This isn't the time to being commenting on that," Maria said, pushing by the others, who growled or squeaked at her as she did so. Her personality pulled a quick-change as she kneeled by the bed and pulled out her quad scanner. After a few moments, she sighed. "Good, it's nothing serious. He should be fine. I'll just see if one of the people he contracted to help with inventing can help me make the proper medicine."

"So Fayt'll be okay?" Peppita asked, tugging slightly woefully at Fayt's autographed shirt, which he used as sleeping clothes now with his shorts from Hyda.

"He'll be fine," Maria said, her smile quickly turning into a frown as she turned and pointed at Cliff and Albel. "And to make sure, you two are keeping as far away from him as possible."

"But this is _my_ room."

"You two are big boys, you can share," Maria snapped. "Now, _out_. _All _of you."

"But it was Cliff's fault!" Sophia said.

"I _don't care_. Now _leave_."

"But-"

"NOW!"

The remaining four members of the group left quickly, dodging various items and accessories and a laser weapon or two as they retreated to Sophia and Peppita's room.

"Inasane old hag," Albel snarled, rubbing the back of his head.

"You get used to it," Cliff said. "At least she didn't start throwing your weapons."

"If she had, I would have killed her."

"If you didn't end up with a sword through your forehead first," Peppita said. Albel just glared at her.

"I can't believe I'm expected to share a room with you," he muttered, shifting his glare over to Cliff.

"Hey, I'm not much happier with it then you are, okay? So lay off," Cliff said, returning the look.

"Well, it could be worse," Sophia said. "One of you _could_ have to sleep outside or something."

"...I think I prefer that idea," Albel muttered and started for the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Cliff asked.

"Hostile takeover, maggot. I'm moving your garbage to the stairwell."

"Oh, like _hell_ you are."

The two girls watched as the men left, flinching slightly as they heard Maria slam the door open and start lecturing them loudly, as one might do to small children or tiny, yapping dogs.

"Um, maybe we should stay away from the inn for now," Sophia said.

"Good idea. Want to go to Aquios?"

Sophia looked worried. "Do you think we can?"

Peppita grinned and gave her a dramatic thumbs up. "Leave it to me! No foul monster can stand up to the great Peppita!"

"Fine, then," Sophia said, giggling. "Let's go!"

The two girls put on their armour and grabbed their weapons before silently creeping to the door and looking out. They watched, waited, then finally hauled ass down the hallway and the stairs, nearly colliding with a variety of objects as they escaped. Back by Albel's former room, Maria, Albel, and Cliff blinked at each other.

"What was all of that about?" Cliff wondered aloud.

"Idiocy is catching," Albel muttered. Maria sighed.

"Great, and I was going to ask Sophia if she could watch over Fayt while I'm at the workshop," she said, scratching her head. She glanced dully at Albel and Cliff, who had their hands half-raised to volunteer.

"I have to move my things according to you, anyway," Albel said.

"I've been babysitting him since that whole Norton thing."

Maria eyed the two of them, then jerked her thumb towards Albel. "He wins."

"Hey!" Cliff protested as Maria tugged him along behind her and Albel disappeared into Fayt's new room, closing the door behind him. "Weren't you just saying he was a psychopath?"

"He won't hurt Fayt. And besides, I need you to hover over people and make them work faster," Maria said. "And no pouting."

Cliff politely pretended not to have been doing so as he followed her to the workshop. 

Oh, drama! Oh, suspense! Oh, laziness and bad writing! Oh! What will happen to Fayt? Will he survive his illness and the batshit craziness of his teammates and the author? Will Peppita and Sophia survive their escape to Aquios? Will the inventors working for Fayt & co. survive Cliff and Maria? Find out next time, same Bunny time, same Bunny channel!

**Author's Note**   
Hey, look! I live! 

I apologize for posting what's basically a half-chapter, really. sBut I never promised decency./s

And, uh, Cliff and Peppita iwill/i present themselves as competition eventually, honestly. I swear. ...Don't look at me like that. ;;;


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